Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that provides many benefits for oral health. It is vital in both preventing tooth decay and keeping your teeth strong and healthy as advised by a family dentist in Chula Vista, CA. Its residents would definitely benefit from maintaining a healthy level of fluoride. In this article, we will discuss what is fluoride where it comes from, and how it helps in maintaining good oral health.
What is Fluoride?
Natural sources of fluoride include water, soil, plants, and rocks. It is also added to a number of dental products and in public water supplies because its benefits have been proven over the years for reducing tooth decay and strengthening tooth enamel.
How Fluoride Works
Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by making the enamel of the teeth more resistant to acid attacks from plaque bacteria and sugars in the mouth. They can also help restore early decay by providing the building blocks for remineralizing enamel. This is how fluoride prevents your teeth:
- Strengthening Enamel: Fluoride takes place in the tooth formation and it acts also after the eruption (hardening of enamel) which makes the enamel more resistant to weaknesses by gasses which puts down cavities.
- Remineralization: Fluoride reverses early decay when acids from plaque bacteria demineralize the enamel.
- Inhibiting Bacterial Activity: It can also interfere with the ability of bacteria to produce acid, preventing them from being able to eat our teeth away.
Sources of Fluoride
While it is the proper definition of fluoride, we must not forget that there are several sources of fluoride that help in dental health.
- Community Water Fluoridation: There is fluoride in the water supply of many communities, including Chula Vista. This intervention has scientifically been shown to decrease tooth decay dramatically within the community.
- Dental Products; Fluoride is always a key component of the most beneficial teeth and gum care products: toothpaste, mouth rinses, fluoride varnishes, and gels.
- Professional Treatments: Dentists can do fluoride treatments at the time of your normal check-up. Taking these treatments is also good for those who are prone to tooth decay.
Benefits of Fluoride
Traditionally accepted benefits of fluoride in dental health have been well documented and widely acknowledged, including the protection it affords to prevent damage from decay-causing bacteria. Here are some key advantages:
- Prevention of Tooth Decay: Fluoride is the most favored among all for preventing tooth decay. Fluoridated water has also resulted in a 25% decrease in cavities in children and adults alike.
- Protection for All Ages: Fluoride is beneficial for people of all ages. Makes permanent teeth develop straight for kids. It also protects teeth from decay at any point in an adult’s life.
- Cost-Effective Dental Care: Community water fluoridation is a cost-effective approach to preventing tooth decay that benefits entire communities, not just individuals or patients; which means fewer fillings and other costly restorative treatments.
- Remineralization of Teeth: It assists in the remineralization of tooth structure, which helps repair the early stages of tooth decay and reverse damage caused by decayed enamel.
Fluoride is essential to prevent tooth decay and fortify tooth enamel for optimal oral health. That is why residents of Chula Vista, CA should take advantage of community fluoridated water, plus dental products and treatments containing fluoride to have the healthiest teeth and a lovely bright smile. Knowing how fluoride benefits your teeth and finding ways to add fluoride to your day-to-day oral care process can ensure you safeguard your teeth and keep them healthy for a lifetime! Start incorporating fluoride today in your oral health regimen and see the benefits of giving up your pearly whites.
